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2011-01-16

750,000th Visitor to The Maldives meets The President

Last month, Daniella Selig from London was officially the
750,000th visiting tourists to the Maldives in 2010. This was a
significant landmark and a record for the Maldives. Daniella, with her husband
Justin and two children were met with a colourful welcome ceremony to mark the
occasion. During her stay, she was also invited to meet President Nasheed at
his office. This was understandably a unique experience for the whole family! They
had a very relaxed meeting and Daniella was also offered a free family holiday
to the Maldives.

Now back in London, and the British winter, Daniela has
kindly offered to do a brief interview with the Maldives Tourism and Promotion
Board regarding her recent holiday and their meeting with the President:

Daniella, what attracted you to choose
the Maldives?

“We
were looking for a family holiday destination that would be hot and relaxing at
the time we wanted to travel. We had previously travelled to the Maldives on
our honeymoon a few years ago and had such a wonderful time that we knew we
would be able to relax there. My husband enjoys watersports, particularly
diving and sailing which we knew he would be able to do in the Maldives – in fact
the diving there is some of the best he has ever encountered”.

Where else were you considering going?

“We
looked into Florida, Thailand and Tenerife – we were also looking for value for
money and we felt overall that we would get this most if we went to the
Maldives. We also wanted to consider flight times, bearing in mind that we had
children travelling with us so were looking for somewhere that wasn’t longer
than 11-12 hours”.

Do you think the Maldives is suitable for
a family holiday?

“Yes
absolutely. We did have some initial reservations – namely flight duration, jet
lag, kid’s entertainment etc but we definitely chose the right resort which
enabled us to have a fabulous holiday for both ourselves and the children. We
stayed in the wonderful Anantara Dhigu - If you find a resort like we did that had a
kids club, child friendly staff and restaurants etc then it can work really
well. For us, having a beach villa was particularly good as we had a balance of
shade and sun, and the children could play inside or outside whilst we relaxed
in close proximity to them. Anantara Dhigu was fantastic to our kids and
provided goody bags, kids’ meals, cutlery, high chairs etc and brought warm
milk for our toddler to our room on request. There were also babysitters
available. I would highly recommend this resort for the perfect family holiday”.

What activities have you enjoyed most?

“My
husband was very keen to partake in watersports – he went diving, sailing, took
the kids on a kayak and went windsurfing”..

What did you think of the quality of
service and the friendliness of the staff?

“The
staff at Anantara Dhigu couldn’t do enough for us during our stay. They were
extremely friendly and always wanted to chat to us. They were lovely with the
kids, playing with them and entertaining them at mealtimes”.

What did your children enjoy most in the
Maldives?

“They
loved the beaches and the clear blue water – that they could swim and see the
fish swimming next to them! They loved the water activities – swimming, kayaking
and the speedboat rides to and from the airport. My son enjoyed the kids club,
particularly the activity where they went to feed the sharks! The beach was
perfect – compared to other beach resorts, they had plenty of space to run
around, build huge sandcastles etc!”

What would be your advice to a family planning
to visit the Maldives for their holiday?

“You
will thoroughly enjoy your holiday and will able to relax whilst the children
have fun at the same time. It’s also extremely safe and we felt really
comfortable with the kids walking around the island. I would try and stay at a
resort such as Anantara Dhigu which creates a perfect balance between family
fun and relaxation for the adults. There is plenty of space to not feel
‘crowded’ with kid.

My
only tips that were a potential problem would be to be prepared in taking the
things you need with you. There are not really shops in the resorts to buy
snacks, nappies, medication etc for children especially and if there are they
can be quite costly. It isn’t that easy to travel to Male just to get these
things so it’s better to be prepared and take them with”.

The president has given you a free
holiday but, would you still have returned to the Maldives?

“Definitely
yes! It’s an incredibly beautiful place and we had such a fabulous holiday
there”.

Finally, what did you think of the
President?

“He
was a really lovely man – we were touched by how warm and friendly he was and
how nicely he welcomed us into his office. The children felt very relaxed
around him and wanted to perform a puppet show for him! You can see that he really
wants to make the Maldives a wonderful place and build on its existing reputation”.